Heroes are made, not born
by LONEW0LF
Summary: When Fox's father died along with his entire squad. It's up to Fox and some close friends to keep Star Fox up and running.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Heroes are made, not born." Something Fox's father had told him a few times. As much as Fox tried he knew he could never be a tenth of the hero his father was. Fox was currently living out of an apartment in downtown Corneria working high end security or military contracting jobs. Something his father would never do. His father though, was not around to discourage him from these jobs. Three years ago when Fox had just turned eighteen when James took off on a mission to investigate a man named Andross who had been banished to a planet named Venom with two of his wingman, Pigma Dangar and Peppy Hare. Forty hours after that, Peppy came back in his father's flagship only to deliver the message that he and James were backstabbed by Pigma. Peppy would sadly, succumb to his injuries soon after.

The Great Fox was placed in a hangar bay his father paid for. The ship was barely airworthy after its last fight. Seals had been breached, only one of its three engines worked and the astral navigation system couldn't even recognize that it was on Corneria. This was a blessing in disguise in a way. James had insured it fully and with the destruction in battle it was determined to receive it's full value. With the money he got from battle, he paid off all of the Great Fox's loans as well as some of the repairs. Three years of using his father's reputation for work and three years of guarding the Cornerian elite has made him enough to repair almost everything. All that remains are the engines. The home stretch however was always the hardest. Engines like the Great Fox's run at around twelve million credits each. Fox had some mechanical experience but not as much as his partner Slippy Toad. Slippy was the son of Space Dynamics lead engineer Beltino Toad. As such he could get a few deals on parts and put them on the Great Fox in a matter of hours. This next job would be one of the more important ones to Fox for this paycheck would signify being a quarter of the way to buying one engine.

Circumstance led him to his new employer, Lawrence Builter, a twenty year old badger actor who invested some money into local charities on Fichina. He had an awards meeting on Fichina then a formal party afterwards. It was Fox's job to ensure he wouldn't be harmed. While not common on Corneria, crime bosses kidnapping and holding ransomes was a regular sight on any of the recently colonized planets. Fox was nearly a custom to it at this point in his career. So much so that when walking around Corneria he could spot who had a gun or knife hidden just by subtle clues. His mission to protect Mr. Builter had been happening on and off for around six months. Whenever he left the planet he took Fox and his other mercenary friend Falco with him. Falco stuck with Fox no matter what. True he may take a leave of absence every once in a while but if Fox needed help, Falco was not far behind. He and Falco were on their way to give a briefing on the route they would most likely take from the star port to the hotel they would be staying at. They drove in a pickup that used to belong to Fox's Father.

"So Fox…" Falco started. "You bringing anyone with you?" The vulpine looked at him with confusion.

"No this is bodyguard mission. Another person would just cause me to look after two instead of one." Fox answered

"Well I'm bringing Katt to the party and we might seem less like targets if we aren't focusing on the biggest VIP of the party." Fox thought about it for a minute. He couldn't argue with that logic. He didn't have anyone he could really ask. He could ask Fara, though that might cause more problems than it was worth. The CEO of a rising company would very likely make her more of a target than his current mission. Maybe Miyu, but she may not want to take on leave from the navy just so Fox could have a date. The more he thought about people he could take, he became a bit sad at each 'not her' he had to think. Soon they reached their rendezvous at a diner with Mr. Builter. "You'd think that for a rich guy like Builter he'd pick somewhere nice for us to eat."

"Maybe he'd like to eat somewhere he won't get recognized. He doesn't really like to act rich. Remember last time we met him he had us meet him at one of Corneria's top rated. He got asked for autographs non stop. I think he's just tired of being famous." Fox ended with that. They walked into the diner. Builter had already sat down at a booth looking at a menu with two across from him. He sat the menu down at looked towards the door. Upon seeing his bodyguards, he waved them over to his table. Fox and Falco walked over and took a seat.

"And how are my favorite bodyguards today?" Builter asked with a sincere tone.

"Were fi-" Fox started.

"Wondering why we don't eat in nicer places." Falco cut off Fox. Builter laughed.

"Falco, good to see you haven't changed."

"Why change, I wouldn't be able to call you an asshat then." Again Builter laughed.

"Ah Falco how I've almost missed you." Fox took this as is moment to get this conversation back on mission.

"Alright if we can get things back on track we still have to go over the mission at hand."

"Fox, always the serious one. Alright let's talk shop, where am I going after we land." Fox pulled out his phone and set lit on the table. A hologram manifested in front of them. It was a map detailing their route. Fox started to go over his plan.

"Once we touch down we will-"

"So here's a thought." Falco interrupted.

"Falco were briefing now."

"It may seem less suspicious if we have dates with us. I'm bringing Katt and if he brings someone then we'll blend in with the crowd." Builter looked back at Fox with a grin.

"Fox I know you when it comes to women." Builter started. "How about this, if you get a date for the party I will throw in a bonus." This annoyed Fox as it suggested that he needed encouragement to ask someone out.

"I can get a date without the bonus thank you."

Falco spoke up though. "What kind of bonus are we talking here?"

Builter seemed to think for a minute. "How about an extra two?"

"Hundred?" Falco chimed

"Thousand." Builter responded.

"How desperate do you think I-" Fox was speaking until a feathery arm wrapped around his muzzle and prevented him from speaking.

"We'll take it, he'll take it, you'll take it." Falco's looked at Builter for the first part and looked Fox dead in the eyes as he said the last part.

"I look forward to see I'll be giving a bonus. Now though I have to be on set before it's dark out so Fox, I wish you luck." Builter got out his his booth and walked out of the diner. Fox slid over to the other side and Falco moved to where Fox was sitting. He mulled in annoyance over the deal that had just occurred. He looked up at Falco who had an expression as if he were about to talk.

"I can get my own date Falco."

"If that were true then that conversation wouldn't have happened." Fox gave an almost angry look at Falco. "How about this, when the waitress comes to get our orders. You'll ask for her number."

"Fine if it will make you shut up about it." Falco nodded. The next few minutes they sat around looking over the menus deciding what to eat. They made some more small talk and laughed a bit albeit at each other expense. Fox had never really dated much. It wasn't that he didn't want to but he didn't have time for it outside work. In Fox's mind he Great Fox was of more significance than any relationship would ever hold. Soon a waitress came over ready to take their orders. Fox looked at the waitress and realized that he had made a mistake in saying he could get her number. Their waitress was Fox's neighbor Krystal. Beyond her name and that she lived in the apartment next to his, Fox knew almost nothing about her. She was also a fox who had an exotic blue fur dye and cute little accent he thought she had, but beyond that he knew nothing. She walked up to his booth and held a little notebook in her hand. She wore a red dress shirt and tan khaki pants. She looked at Fox and instantly recognized who he was. Both of them tried to avoid eye contact.

"Hi my name is Krystal and i'll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?" She asked. Falco spoke first.

"Yeah i'll just have a water and could I get a cheese burger with a side of steak fries?"

"Sure." she looked at Fox for a few seconds. "And for you sir?"

Fox's mind went into a panic. 'Can I do it? Could I ask my neighbor on a date while she was working?' "I...um could I um… I… could I have the same thing he's having?" Fox managed to stutter out. Both foxes visibly awkward toward another.

"Sure I'll put those right in for you." She walked away. Fox hadn't noticed it till now but Falco had a smile on his face a mile wide. Falco put on as straight of a face as he could. Then, in a british accent he said.

"Mission failed. You'll get em next time." Fox couldn't help let out a slight chuckle. For some 'unknown' reason, krystal didn't bring out their food to them. Fox could guess that a conversation like 'those guys I just served are being kinda creepy, could you take over' happened. Seeing her at anytime after this a wave of embarrassment would overcome him. When their food came, it was delivered by a waiter instead of her. They ate sort of quickly. A few minutes later when they had finished, Falco informed Fox that Katt would pick him up in a few. Fox decided to leave at that moment. He climbed into his truck and turned the key. The heavy sound of guitars and intense drumming played through his radio. He put it in drive and got onto the main road. Fox had only made it a few hundred yards before he saw something familiar, or rather someone. A Blue fox standing alone by a bus stop. In between them was stoplight intersection. Fox's light was red. He sat in his truck stopped in front of a beautiful vixen. His father's voice started to speak to him in his head.

"Heroes are made, not born. Bravery is earned and not given out. Sometimes to be a hero, you'll have to be brave and face what your scared of." Fox said in a whisper to himself. The light turned green. He drove forward until he came to the bus stop. He drove the truck next to the sign that signaled it was a stop. As he looked at her, he could see that she didn't have the look of someone who just got off work, rather the look of someone who had just received some bad news. "Hey Krystal," she looked at him. She seemed almost surprised that he was there. Almost like she didn't her him pull up. "Would you like a ride?" She looked like she could break down and cry at any minute. With a defeated smile and a raspy sad voice she said.

"Sure, I guess." she sounded almost hesitant. She stepped up into the cab and looked out the open window. Fox had somehow done it. He managed to ask her a question with a stutter or voice crack. Maybe he could even his luck and get a few more in before his nervous self boiled backup to the top and would make sure he wouldn't be able to speak again.

"If you don't mind me saying, you look kinda sad. Anything happen?" Krystal turned her head toward him. He was driving with his right hand on the wheel and the left laid on the crease the open window.

"Do you actually want to hear about it?" She asked curiously. She almost didn't believe him.

"I do." Totally unbeknown to Fox, Krystal read his mind expecting some lustful goal in sight for him. She was surprised to only find someone who was genuinely curious about her well being. Up to this point, everyone wanted something from her on this planet. No one was pure or truthful. Everyone she had met had some deceitful goal she could detect. Not him though. It was almost like she could trust him. "Alright, I just lost my job. It's one of three I've had in the past four months. It's not that I'm afraid for myself. I can always find ways to make enough for food and rent. It's my tri-" she stopped, "family. I come from a place that no longer even exists. My family is having a hard time adjusting to their new life. I send back what I can so they can buy food and pay for neseties. I'm scared that if I don't, they may not make it in this world. I scared if-" again she stopped and looked at him. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"It's not a problem. Believe it or not my story is almost like yours." She looked at him in disbelief. "Three years ago the CDF contracted my father and his team to investigate a planet with only one known inhabitant. As they approached, one of my fathers wingmen, Pigma, fired on him. He ordered his other wingman, Peppy Hare, to get out and warn the CDF of Pigma's betrayal. He later died because part of his control panel came loose and cut his neck. He made it back in time to tell what had happened over radio but by the time he got to a hospital he had lost too much blood. My mother died when I was ten from a car bomb. The person who placed it was the sole inhabitant of the planet my father had to investigate. I don't have much left of either of them. Except one thing. My father a requested a ship be built to help him in his missions. It was wrecked in the last fight my father was in. Little by little and piece by piece. I've been putting it all back together. A ship may not be family but to me, it's all I really got left of them." Both of them sat in silence the rest of the drive home. Twelve uneventful minutes later, Fox and Krystal arrived at their apartment complex. As they got out of Fox's truck and walked up the stairs, a question burned itself into Fox's mind until it came out. "Hey so, this may be kind of sudden but I have a mission coming up and I sort of need a date."

"What do you mean 'need' a date?"

"Look I'm going to be guarding an actor during a formal party and I may look like less of a bodyguard if I have a beautiful date to a company me. Also if you want I could probably conjure up some danger pay since you're technically in the line of sight." Krystal was taken aback. Not only could she get a vacation, she'd be paid for it too. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it wouldn't be a minuscule amount either. Not a whole lot, but maybe more than she'd make in a day as a waitress.

"When would this happen?"

"Two days from now and we'd be gone for around three." Krystal thought about it. Then a minute later she had her decision.

"Sure Fox it's a date."

A/N: This isn't my first story on this site, but it might as well be. Last time I wrote one was when I was fifteen and they were for A/O. So please, if you read those don't expect that from this story. If there were any mistakes (I'm sure there were many) please tell me so I don't make them in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fox laid on a couch in his apartment feeling both excited and nervous about what was to happen in two days. He had a date so that problem was fixed. Now a new problem came his way, what was he going to do during that time. Of course he had a job to do but he feared that he may get too far away from Builter or not pay any attention at all to the actor he was hired to protect. In his head he could only see a blue furred vixen. Fox had never exchanged more than a "hello" or "good morning" with her and now she was going off planet to dance with him around Fichina's richest. A bit of a leap of a leap in a relationship but Fox couldn't think like that. He had to keep this professional.

His mind raced with internal conversations to himself. 'The time for that isn't right now and even if it was, she would be into me. I'd bet the only reason she's coming with is for the money. Money! Damn I what am I pay… I know, the bonus from the bet. Falco didn't even ask me if I was okay with that kind of bet and this will be the perfect payback. Krystal said she has a family to take care of and I think this will help her greatly. I dare Falco to fight me on helping the poor.'

 _Meanwhile in Krystal's apartment_

Krystal had been worked to the bone over the past few days. All to have been fired for misplacing a few orders. She wasn't worried for her financial safety though. Her people or what was left of her people had been living in poverty since they evacuated Cerinia. Eight years ago she had no idea of life outside her planet. Eight years ago she had never even thought possible that her nation could be taken away in less than a week. Eight years ago a group of primates arrived on her primitive planet and offered the most amazing of technologies. Machines that could reach past the sky into space. Medicines that could treat any illness. Wonders beyond comprehension. It was truly astonishing.

Then they decided to turn it all against them once they saw the Cerinian people's abilities. Telepathy, the ability to see into the mind. Some even able to hold conversation in one's head. Almost immediately after seeing this power the primates brought down a machine the size of an apartment building. It landed on the ground peacefully and made little disturbance on the forest floor. After two day of laying dormant it came to life erupting light beams that encompassed the entire sky. The ground shook and mountains fell. The end of the world had begun for Cerinia. Primates run up to the city with weapons never before seen. Weapons that roared and killed faster and further than any bow could. They killed warriors and murdered some of the elders. All that remained was the inner city where the primates used their weapons to corral the survivors into gigantic flying machines never to return. Gathered In what could be seen a large three story gym, the survivors were crying, praying and confused. Krystal remembered the next part most vividly.

She looked back and saw her home planet crack and tear apart. She turned around and saw the king of her nation toe to toe with what looked like the leader of the primates judging by his age and appearance. "Why are you doing this! What have we done to offend you this greatly!"

The old ape spoke. "You haven't done anything to offend me or any of my people. That being said however I know your ability to read the minds of others. So if you wish to see what I have planned then look into my head and see." The king closed his eyes and focused on the ape. All of a sudden his eyes opened wide.

"You...You monster." He looked out toward his people. "They plan to enslave us and use our minds for their own nefarious needs. Their going to use us to resurrect their dead." He turned to the ape. "I can guarantee as long as I am king that none of this will ever happen."

"Very well then." The ape pointed to the king and snapped his fingers. A shot rang the out from an upper floor and a hole emerged in their king. He collapsed and started coughing up blood. The ape stood over him with a smile. "I relieve you of your throne your majesty." The the queen ran up to hold her husband before he died in a matter of seconds. The ape leader had left after that and was never seen again. The survivors could do nothing but hope for rescue. It did come to them in the form of a Cornerian cruiser that had spotted it trying to run. They had been saved but never revealed to their saviors the abilities they possessed. Only other Cerinians knew what power they held and by mutual agreement no one else would ever know.

Krystal let in her bed and thought of these moments. It haunted her how much she thought of these moments. It was partly why she never called it them her tribe because it reminded her of that day. Truth is that this date with Fox was one of the few things she looked forward to in a couple of months. Before it had only been work mixed in with the occasional time she'd buy something for herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone. She looked sort of at it then answered without seeing who it was.

"Hello."

An assertive feminine voice spoke, "Hello Krystal." Krystal shot up.

"Your majesty! Please forgive my rudeness my queen." Krystal spoke in a quick almost hurried voice.

"Krystal, there is no need for such formalities. I haven't been your queen since we got to this planet."

"That may be true but no one could have kept us together like you did. Why are you calling me by the way?"

"Call it a hunch but I feel that something is keeping you down. What's wrong?" Krystal was happy to have the queen in her life. She cared for those who survived the destruction of Cerinia. She never had been more than a few days out of contact with any of the adult Cerinans who left to support the survivors.

"It's nothing." Krystal almost chocked on her words.

"It wouldn't even have to read your mind or be near you to tell that what you just said was a lie. What's troubling you my dear?"

"Really it's nothing. I got fired but I found some temporary work that pays well."

"Oh that's terrible to hear about your job. I am glad to hear that you were able to get work again so quickly. What is your new job?"

"Well it's more or less a bodyguard job." She started to walk around her living room and leaned on a wall.

"More or less? A job where you guard someone doesn't seem like a more or less job."

"Well… I'm not really guarding the person directly. I'm the date of the bodyguard and he's paying me to go with him." Saying that last part aloud sounded wrong. Like she was only going on a date with this man because he was paying her. No denial that it helped a lot. Even if Fox had asked her without the money she would've said yes. It would've been a welcome break.

"He's paying you to be there. Oh God, please tell me you haven't become a prostitute."

"What, no,no, no, no. I admit that when it's put like that it sounds like I could be one but this isn't anything of the sort." A knock came at her door. "Someone is here my queen, I have to go."

"Be safe Krystal." Krystal ended the call. She walked over to the door. As she turned the knob, she could sense Fox on the other side. The door opened and the vulpine stood in a change of clothes. He now wore a dark grey pullover and blue jeans.

"Hey Krystal, I was wondering and this is I'd you aren't busy at the moment. Would you like to get groceries with me? Not like get my groceries but like… you know get your own along with mine." Krystal chuckled at Fox's awkwardness.'Great she thinks I'm an idiot.' Fox thought.

"I'll come with Fox just let me grab some things." She walked inside while Fox stayed out. Krystal was still in her waitress outfit. She quickly ran to her closet and got out of her clothes. She opted for a pair of black leggings and a red tee shirt underneath a white windbreaker. She walked out to her door. Fox waited patiently for her. As she came out into the hallway, Fox couldn't help but eye her up a bit. He liked the change of clothes she had made. She didn't look like a waitress who had worked a few to many hours. She had always been beautiful in his eyes. He could never say it, but there was no harm in thinking it. "You ready?" Fox's mind snapped back into reality.

"Um… yeah, yeah let's go." The two foxes walked down the stairs and into the garage. They made their way to Fox's vehicle, a faded blue pickup truck that his father bought new when Fox was five. Sixteen years later it had a fair amount of kinks yet kept running. The truck started fine and the pair were on the road. Something that Krystal had not noticed earlier while driving with him was Fox's apparent heavy set lead foot. The road outside the apartment was thirty five and Fox drove at a little under fifty. The next road had a twenty five mile hour speed limit and Fox drove in between thirty five and forty. They passed where Krystal usually got her groceries which was a convenience store that had a slightly larger produce section than most. A short time later they had made it. The store was larger than those around it. Fox parked the truck and both stepped out. Fox grabbed a basket and Krystal followed him into the isles picking what she needed when Fox walked past it. Soon enough they were checked out and walking to his truck. Not a word was spoken in the entire time that they had been inside. Fox broke the silence. "So why blue?"

"Blue?"

"Your for dye. Why did you dye it blue?"

"It's not dyed, it's my natural color." Fox gave her an 'I don't believe you look.' She ruffled the fur on her neck until the skin underneath was almost visible. "See, no base color or fur. Not orange or white or black. I'm blue." Fox looked at her again. He believed her for some reason. He had never met anyone with naturally blue fur. "This is just normal where I'm from."

"Where are you from?" That question. That question brought back memories which would be better left alone.

"I know you mean well Fox, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"Sorry." Fox backtracked quickly. 'Great job dumbass,' he thought. "Sorry if I crossed a boundary. I didn't mean anything by-" Fox was interrupted by his phone. Seeing it as a way out what was just said, he picked it up, looked at who was calling and answered. "Hey slippy what's up?"

"Fox we have a problem with the last shipment."

"Can this wait a few minutes? I'll be there in a bit."

"Sure thing Fox." Fox looked at Krystal.

"Sorry about that, something probably got damaged in shipping."

"It's alright. What was that for?"

"My ship."

"Your ship. Oh yeah you told me about that earlier." The truck rolled forward until it reached a three way stop. A green sign in front of them had an arrow pointing downtown and another pointing to the spaceport. "You know I haven't been on a ship in years. I wouldn't mind a detour."

"Oh um. Sure I guess you could come with. If a bird named Falco gives you any trouble then talk to me. Slippy, a toad, shouldn't really give you any trouble. It's usually me and him working in the ship anyways. Falco just kinda stands around playing with tools. There also may or may not be a pink feline named Katt. She doesn't do much but it's still more than Falco." Krystal giggled a bit. Such a lazy worker, yet Fox kept him around."Anyways we're only a few miles out. Any other questions about the hangar?"

 _Meanwhile in hangar 175B_

"So how confident do you feel I'm Fox's ability to ask someone out?" Katt asked. She, Falco and slippy were working on getting a canopy put on a nearly rebuilt Arwing.

"If you knew Fox like I do then you'd know how dumb of a question that is." Falco responded.

"There's still hope for him. If there wasn't you wouldn't have taken the bet." Slippy said.

"Yeah, if I didn't take it then we'd be two grand not richer. Besides I have a plan." Falco said with a grin.

"Oh really, what." Katt said.

"This oughta be good." Slippy said.

"So here's how this is going to go down. I'm gonna take Fox to Room X and get him so loaded he won't know how to grab his glass. Once he's drunk I'll take him over to some girl and hopefully they'll talk it out. After that I'm gonna ask if she's available for the mission."

"What if he already has a date?" Katt asked.

"You must not have been listening earlier but there's no way that he has. If he did then I forfeit this missions paycheck." Falco said confidently.

"Well I accept that offer." They could all hear Fox's voice say. Falco turned around and saw Fox. He wasn't alone though. That waitress from the restaurant was by his side. "Guys this is Krystal. She will be with me during the next mission. She wanted to see the ship so I brought her here." Fox and Krystal walked off in the direction of the massive starship. Katt looked at Falco who looked completely bewildered by what he just saw.

"Hey Falco you with us?"

"Of the fifteen years I've known him, he's never talked to a girl by himself." Falco said. "Wait am not actually getting paid?"

Fox and Krystal walked around near the Great Fox's grounded wings. A battle worn white and blue arwing lay on a specially designed mechanics lift. Fox purchased this arwing and four others like it from the CDF after they had crashed in a skirmish with some venomian fighters. This one was almost back together except it was missing it's canopy. Fox looked at the ground and saw a brand new yet cracked canopy. "This probably what Slippy was trying to call me about." Krystal looked at the craft.

"Is this how we are going get to Fichina?" Krystal asked.

"Oh no we have a transport ship to get from planet to planet."

"Oh good I don't think I could sit cramped like that for hours." As Krystal said this Fox got an idea.

"How about for five minutes?" Krystal looked at him. "One the arwings is working so if you want to go for a quick flight I could take you."

"Where would we go?"

"Just around the city." Krystal became a bit apprehensive at getting into a star fighter. Scared that she might hit a gun by accident. "Come on it'll be fun." Fox said with a hint of cockiness in his voice.

"Alright, yeah let's go." Fox walked in an almost light jog to the fully resorted arwing. He stepped in and took of his sweatshirt.

"You may want to take of your jacket too. Trust me when I say that it won't be comfortable feeling the zipper on your jacket get nearly pushed into you from the G forces." Krystal took off her jacket and handed it to Fox. He neatly folded it and set it on top of a tool cart along with his. Fox stepped into the cockpit and motioned for Krystal to follow him. As she stepped onto the wing and looked into the cockpit, She saw that there was only one seat. "Yeah um I probably should've mentioned that there's only one seat." Krystal wasn't deterred that much. She stepped in the middle where Fox's legs made a gap. Sitting on his lap as she brought in her other leg and made herself as comfortable as she could on the vulpine. Fox pressed a button on the canopy and brought it down on top of them. The two Foxes sealed in cramped fighter craft, Fox pushed another button. "Tower, tower this is Star Fox eight zero golf requesting run out and vertical takeoff outside hangar one, seven, fiver bravo."

"Star Fox eight, zero, golf, take off approved. Contact departure once airborne."

"Copy all, Star Fox eight, zero, golf. " The hangar doors opened up and Fox taxied the arwing to the outside. Fox started to hover and pointed the nose of the craft upwards. "You might want to hold on." Krystal looked around and saw a handle on the canopy. Gripping it with both hands she held on as the arwings engines roared like a beast. The spaceship was then pointed at a nearly ninety degree angle. "This is Star Fox eight, zero, golf, taking off."

A/N: This chapter took me a bit longer to write than the last. Probably since the last only took me five hours to write. I hope to have an update schedule like this for the coming future but I wouldn't count on it. Anyways thank you to all who have read up to this point. Until next time Lonew0lf out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The arwing blasted forward. The force of the sudden movement pushed Krystal into Fox. Krystal held onto the handle like she would fly away if she let go. Fox looked around his guest at the instrument panel. 'I should probably keep it under three hundred knots.' He thought. Fox stopped climbing altitude faster than he really should have. Once he reached seventeen thousand feet, he leveled out slowed down to two hundred knots. To the right of him was the Cornerian sea. To the left and twelve miles out was the capital city of Corneria. Every building blended together until Fox flew even slower. Fox slowed until he was at a hover in the sky. The skyscrapers and cityscape was a sight to behold no matter where you were. In the middle was the CDF's main complex.

The sun was beginning to set as Fox pointed the nose toward Corneria putting the sun to the left of the wing. Krystal watched as the sun went behind a mountain casting a shadow over the capital, not the sea though. Fox and Krystal watched as slowly as the city lights came on one by one. Soon the whole city became completely lit by its own lights. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Fox asked. Krystal couldn't take her eyes of the night time cityscape.

"It's amazing Fox." She sat motionless watching the distant city lights. "It's so beautiful."

"Want to see something better?" Fox asked.

"I don't see how you could beat this." Fox reached into a side pocket where a blaster might be mounted for a bail out kit. Pulling his hand inside he produced a red bandana.

"Put this on." She looked at Fox worriedly. "It's a secret." Krystal looked at the bandana then at Fox. She took the bandana and wrapped it around her eyes. As she started to tie it around the back of her head, A pair of hands overtook hers and she felt Fox tie the bandana tight. Krystal reached up to the canopy trying to find the handle again. Again she felt Fox's hands guide hers as he lead them to the handle. Krystal gripped the handle harder than the first time. Fox slowly moved forward at first. After a few more seconds Fox pushed it faster and faster. Soon he reached three hundred fifty knots and unbeknown to Krystal the arwing was completely vertical now.

To Krystal, once the arwing reached its current speed, moving at all was difficult. She was pressed against Fox as the G forces working on her tried to push her and the vulpine together as one. Krystal could no longer hold onto the handle and had a death grip of the sides of the fighter's seat. Her phone threatened to rip it's way through her back pocket and become part of Fox's flight coat. The force of gravity compressed Krystal but it didn't feel painful. The force was just uncomfortable more than anything else. The awring sped forward until Krystal could no longer feel the force press her down. She could still hear the engine at the same volume it had been earlier. She felt Fox's hands on the bandana."This is beautiful." Fox said as he removed the bandana.

In front of her was a sight that beauty envied,Krystal was awestruck by the sight. Fox took her into orbit. She looked out at the planet she currently inhabited. Mountain ranges, vast oceans, long rolling plains and cities lighting up as night fell on them. She set her eyes upward and saw a sight she thought she'd never see again. Stars, galaxies, light flashes of blue and white dotted the sky signaling where vessels warped in and out the system. Every night since she got to Corneria, she would look into the sky hoping to see maybe some of nature's astral wonders. It never happened. Now as she sat in a one seat fighter on the lap of someone she hadn't had more than a handful of words with looking at the thing she missed most about living on Cerinia.

Krystal hadn't even noticed that she had let go of the handle. Slowly she floated out of Fox's lap in the zero gravity of space. She only noticed this happening when she hit her head on the overhead canopy. Fox saw this and instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close. Time stopped as he did this. Fox's arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace that Krystal couldn't resist. "You were right. This is more beautiful. Thank you Fox. I can't tell you how long I've waited to see stars again."

"I know. I could be up here for hours just watching the world move." Fox sighed. Krystal shifted her position do she was face to face with Fox. They looked into eachothers eyes with only a millimetres distance between their muzzles. Fox leaned in to close the small distance. He merely touched his lips to her before a blaring noise and a red light on the instrument panel flashed. Breaking the small amount of bliss he felt, he moved his finger over some system manager equipment. It brought up a screen titled oxygen levels that brought a worrying look on Fox's face. "Damn it. I forgot to refill the oxygen tanks." His voice had a hint of disappointment in it. "We have to go back."

Krystal gazed at the sky above her for as long as she could. Fox meanwhile was bringing the arwing in for an atmospheric re-entry. The starry sky slowly disappeared as the arwing made its descent. Bright specs and flashes disappeared one by one as the craft flew closer to the city. Soon after there were no stars to see. Just a city that stole the light away from space. Stars were just beyond the sky. They were so close, but that was still too far from where she currently lives.

She hadn't moved from the position she was in when she and Fox nearly kissed. Chest to chest with the vulpine, she was pressed into him as they descended through the atmosphere. Fox made his conversation with the air traffic controllers and started his approach procedure for the runway. Slowing from four hundred knots to one fifty made Krystal nearly fly forward into the instrument panel. She held onto Fox as if her life depended on it. Fox lined up for a landing but part if him wanted to fake going to fast and have to do a go around so Krystal could keep holding onto him. She seemed so innocent as she held onto his flight coat almost like she was trying to hear it off. Fox made his final approach doing a little under a hundred fifty then applied speed brakes and cut his engines. The runway used electromagnets that suspended the arwing and slowed it down to a halt. An orange line appeared in front of the craft one the ground. Moving slowly forward, the magnets taxied Fox's arwing without him having to do anything but wait until he got to his hangar.

Five minutes later the auto taxi system drove the pair to the hangar. Fox pressed a series of buttons on the left side of cockpit and the hangar doors opened up about a quarter way. Fox turned on the engine to a small percentage of its power. A quiet rumble lifted the arwing up as Fox taxied himself into the hangar. Fox lead his arwing just barley into the hangar then pointed the nose a hundred eighty degrees around to face to hangar door. Seals hissed and blew steam as Fox opened up the canopy. Krystal stood up for the first time in about twenty minutes. Her back cracked as she stretched her muscles. Fox did the same. "If you two were gonna have sex. There are plenty of better places for that than an arwing." A cocky blue avian said standing next to the arwing.

"That's not what happened!" Fox shot back instantaneously. Falco laughed. Fox's cheeks went cherry red as did Krystal's.

"Anyways, Slippy left and me and Katt are leaving soon too. See ya in two days." Falco waved as he left Fox alone with Krystal. The pair walked over to an entrance door in the opposite side of the main sliding door. They walked out of the hangar, then begun walking over to Fox's truck. Fox though, got tired of the silence.

"So… how many people are in your family?" Fox asked.

"Um… that's kind of a personal question. Sorry but I just don't feel comfortable answering that kind of question."

"Oh um, I'm sorry for asking. I was… nevermind." The truck was only a few feet away. The passenger side faced them and Krystal stepped in. Fox walked around the back of the truck reaching the drivers side a moment later. The door opened up as Fox stepped in.

"Five hundred." Krystal said.

"What?"

"You asked how big my family was. It's about five hundred people."

"Five hundred?" Fox asked with an astonticed voice.

"It may not be accurate to call all of them family but they're kinda what I was left with." Fox got a vague idea of what might have happened. This 'family' she had were people she had a bond with. Probably not blood but some missing puzzle piece that Fox had yet go find.

"That's a big family. How many other people help support your family?"

"Around a hundred on top of that. We all come from the same family so we all send back what we can each month. If you don't mind I'd like to get off the this topic."

"Sure." Fox and Krystal rode along in silence the rest of the drive home.

 _Two days later_

Today was the day. In a few hours Fox, Krystal, Falco, Katt and Builter would be traveling to Fichina. Fox woke up early to work out in his buildings workout center. Calling it a gym was a stretch. Inside were two treadmills and one rack of dumbbells and a pull down machine. Fox spent around an hour in the center using each piece of equipment. Afterwards he showered, ate breakfast and settled down by playing some video games. For once in the past fifty some hours that he asked Krystal out to this event he could think about the mission.

A little while later, Fox laid out his gear in his kitchen table. His black suit jacket was resistant to energy shots and small caliber ballistic ammunition. An earpiece that was nearly invisible unless you were next to him wirelessly connected to a power bank sized device, called a multiple radio receiver or MRR, that could pick up on radio frequencies and had the plus of being easily hidden in his suit jacket. He had a pair of glasses that also connected to the MRR telling him the distance and general vicinity where a certain radio frequency or call was coming from. His armament was a silver blaster pistol that he fit in his side holster. He debated taking a much more easily concealable ballistic pistol but knew that he could end up hurting more than a potential target if he fired a single shot. Lastly he grabbed an extra earpiece that he was saving for Krystal. He put his equipment in a duffle bag then walked out.

He hoped that Krystal was awake by now given that it was around eleven thirty. Fox quickly packed some extra clothes and a couple personal hygiene products. He put all this in a suitcase and left. Fox lived at the end of his hallway and Krystal's apartment door stood only a few feet from his. He knocked on the door waiting for it to open. Soon after it did with a beautiful blue furred vixen standing in its doorway. "Hey it's almost time get airborne so um we should probably leave here in a bit." Krystal looked surprised that Fox was here.

"Oh, sorry you caught me off guard. I need to pack some things. I'll be out in a minute." Krystal closed the door and ran to her closet. She grabbed enough clothes for the amount of time Fox said that she would be gone. She stuck the contents of her bathroom countertop inside the front section of a backpack. She stuck the clothes she grabbed in the main section. She made a checklist in her mind of what she needed. 'Clothes, check. Hygiene, check. Phone charger, by my bed.' She walked over to the bed and looked over at the closet. She wondered what everyone else would be wearing at the dance tomorrow. Then something hit her like a brick wall. 'Shit what am I gonna wear?' she looked through her closet for something that might look nice around the super rich. She looked for a few moments and came up with nothing. 'Calm down, calm down. We're staying at a hotel. I'll just sneak out at some point and buy one. It'll need to be an inexpensive one but I can't show up with anything I have now. Hopefully I'll get enough time to do so.' She swung her backpack around her back and walked out to Fox. Fox was leaning against a wall scrolling through his phone as Krystal opened the door. He looked up when the door opened. "Hey sorry about that. I'm ready now though."

"Great, Falco is waiting outside right now in his suv for us. He should've picked up Builter on his way so we're going straight to the star port." Fox picked up his duffel bag as he and Krystal moved down the hall toward the entrance of the building. Making their way outside they saw Falco's long black suv. One couldn't tell by a glance that this was not an ordinary suv. Resistant to blaster and gunfire as well as having its own experimental countermeasures against cyber attacks. This was not their property though. One of the perks of having Slippy as a friend was getting to test out pre production military gear. That had its ups and downs.

Fox and Krystal walked to the vehicle. Fox held open a door for his partner. Stepping into the suv, Krystal met the pink feline sitting in the right seat of the middle row. The blue avian from two days ago sat in the driver's seat. Then there was a third member sitting next to him that Krystal could only assume was Builter. She made introductions to all three of them and Fox stepped inside to take a seat in the rear of the suv. They all then made their way to the star port.

Fox looked down at his phone to see that he got a message from Builter who sat five feet away from him. He opened it and saw 'I honestly didn't think you could do it. Congrats.' Fox couldn't help but feel a little proud. Also a little insulted.

A/N: Chapter 3 done. What will happen next? Will something happen at the dance? Will Falco get paid? Is there cheese in Fox's suit jacket? Stay tuned to find out. This is LONEW0LF signing out.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm really sorry that this came out this late. Also sorry that this isn't as long as it should have been. I didn't have enough time I hoped to have.

Chapter 4

 _Inside the suv_

Krystal sat in the middle section right side, Katt next to her. A pink furred feline who looked around Krystal's age. Katt wore a bright green zip up sweatshirt and some black sweatpants. She also had on a pair of earbuds as she scrolled through her phone. She softly hummed an upbeat tune that Krystal couldn't pick up on. Falco sat in front left drivers seat. He wore a white dress shirt and black dress pants. Under the arm that she could see was a black yet empty holster. She looked back at Fox and saw that he was wearing nearly the same thing save he also wore a black suit jacket. Fox saw her looking at him.

"Hey Krystal, do you need something?" Fox said with a caring voice.

"No,sorry. I was just looking around at the suv." She gazed around the vehicle trying to get away from the awkward stare that just occurred. Upon looking around she saw that the suv was clad in fine leathers and state of the art electronics. "How did you afford a set of wheels this nice?"

"Long story short we're borrowing it." Fox said.

"The person you're 'borrowing' from knows it's being borrowed right?" Krystal asked.

"No, I mean yes." Fox was visually struggling trying to find words. Falco noticed this happening and helped verbalize what Fox was apparently unable to.

"This is under a testing period and our outfit was selected as one of its test subjects. This thing is tested to stop bullets and resist cyber attacks." Falco said. A sign went by saying space port private hangars ahead.

"If it's already proven to do that then what do you need to find out?" Krystal asked.

"Testing the ability to blend in with other cars and to see how it performs outside of a trial facility." Fox answered back. "So far we haven't been getting the 'that's a cool car' look from anyone nor have we felt any bumps in the road so I'd say that the test is going fine." The suv drove up to a gate with a guard post. Falco lowered his window and pulled a badge out of his chest pocket and showed it to the guard. He examined it for a second then waved them through. They were at the hangar in only a few more moments. The main hangar door opened enough to let the suv in. It didn't stop though, instead Falco slowly maneuvered it past the tool chests and large star craft parts. Krystal took this time to veer out into the hangar.

Inside the massive hangar was the nearly put together hull of the Great Fox. Aside it were four nearly mint arwings but next to them were two arwings stripped of almost all their parts. On the other side of the Great Fox was a small sized transport craft. The transport resembled an old high wing jet with a flat rear end. The end of the craft had engines mounted over it in an archway. A ramp in the middle if the archway lowered as the suv got closer. The black garage area of the transport she could see looked wide enough to accommodate at two vehicles. Falco parked to one side of the garage and turned off the engine. Everyone started to get out and walk to the next area. All but Fox, he stayed behind and grabbed a large bundle of straps with hooks at the ends of each one. Krystal turned back at him as he knelt down next to the wheel hub. Fox was wrapping the straps into the wheel while Krystal watched.

"Fox do you need help?" She voiced with concern.

"Yeah I guess." He nodded his head toward the other side of the suv holding up one of the straps. "Could you take this and intertwine it into a triangle pattern on the wheel on that side?" He began twisting it inside the wheel before she answered. He made a triangle in the wheel and held up the hook part.

"Sure." She grabbed the hook area and walked it to the other side. Krystal knelt down beside the tire and put one side in. She tried to make the same shape as Fox did but couldn't copy his pattern.

"Here…" Fox's voice said startlingly from behind her. "... let me help you." She flinched a bit not knowing he had been there. He took the hook end and did what he did with the other tires. First through the bottom then the top, then down at an angle and wrap it back forming a triangle. He then hooked it to a latch sticking out of the floor. Looking over his work and after giving the straps a few tugs he stood up. "That should be good enough. We should go to the main area so we can take off." The pair left with Fox leading the way. The next area reassembled an apartment building more than a seating area. Two doors to the side of the entrance labeled staterooms. As the area marked as staterooms ended, a living area and a kitchenette came next. Finally was the cockpit behind another set of doors. Fox walked into the cockpit leaving Krystal with Katt and Builter. She walked over to a couch in the living area and sat down.

"Hey Krystal right?" Katt asked. Krystal nodded her head. "I have to know, how did Lylats shiest fox ask you out?" Builter, who was looking at his phone, gazed up at her with interest.

"I was waiting at a bus stop after getting fired from my job when Fox had pulled next to me in his truck."

"Sounds like the beginning to an old country song." Builter said. Krystal laughed but Katt gave him a glare that non verbally spoke 'not now.'

"Once pulled up, he asked if I wanted a ride back to our building since we were neighbors. He made some small talk with me but not much beyond that until we got back to our building. Fox walked up the stairs with me then asked me of I would like a free vacation for a few days. I didn't see a downside so I took him up on that offer." she finished.

"I'm sorry about your job but if your ever looking for work, Fox is always looking for hands around the Great Fox." Katt said. Krystal thought about this for a moment before coming to a realization.

"I would but I have no experience with machines at all. I don't even have a driver's licence."

"Oh don't worry about your mechanical knowledge. Falco and I have none and we still work there. It's mostly 'hand me this' or 'tighten that.' You'd get the hang if it quickly trust me." Katt said.

"I'll… I'll ask him about it later. Thank you." Krystal said. Builter walked away and into one of the staterooms.

"So what really happened that Fox asked you out?" Katt asked. Krystal was taken aback by that question.

"I didn't lie, that's what happened."

"Sorry If I jumped you with that but Fox is…" Katt shook her hand as she tried to come up with words. "not great around women is putting it lightly. Especially women as pretty as you." Krystal blushed. "So what are you wearing to the party. I'm only asking because if it's too showy then you might kill Fox."

"I honestly don't know yet." Katt stared at her. "I was planning to run out the night before and buy something cheap that would pass."

"That won't do, follow me." Katt grabbed Krystal me the arm and dragged her into the other stateroom. She pulled a suitcase out from underneath the bed and went through it. She laid out two folded dresses on the bed, one purple and one black. Katt eyed up Krystal, picked up the purple dress and threw it at her. "Here put this on." Katt shoved her into the bathroom. Krystal stood there dumbfounded for a moment. Eventually she changed clothes and put on the purple dress. Quickly she realized that this was not the cheap dress she had envisioned of purchasing. It exposed her left shoulder and part of her right leg. A knock came from the door. Krystal opened it and Katt walked in. "Oh yeah, that'll kill Fox."

 _Five hours later or 1700 Fichina time_

In less than five minutes after they landed, the suv was on the cold streets of Fichina's largest city, Dutchport. Fox was in the front seat filling out reports for the vehicle. Falco drove, while not at Fox speeds, at a relatively fast pace with eyes hyper actively looking for cops. It wouldn't be as bad if they got pulled over on Corneria but if they got pulled over here, gangs had half the police force on their payrolls. To get seen with Builter would alert gangs to what car and what people to look out for. It would make protecting him that much harder.

They drove for half an hour before the suv made it to the eight story hotel. Fox exited first and opened the door with Builter. Fox walked within nearly an inch of Builter moving at a brisk pace as the two walked inside. The vulpine looked around for the front desk.

"Hello sir, may I help you?" A feminine voice said behind him. Fox turned around to see what he was looking for. A female wolf stood behind the desk

"Yes I have three rooms under McCloud." Fox said. The wolf typed away at a computer in front of her.

"Welcome Mr. McCloud, I do need to have a credit card for a security deposit." Fox reached in his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out his card for the wolf to charge it. Once done she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out what looked like a phone charging dock. At this time the other three walked in. "Alright so this machine will link up to your phone so you can use it as your key." She held her hand out with her palm up. Fox took this hint and gave her his phone. She plugged it in and a notification came on his screen as the plug in machine made a low frequency beeping noise. She did this for the rest of their phones. "You have rooms eight ten through eight twelve. Your phones will allow you to enter them for the next forty eight hours."

Fox thanked her and walked on with the rest of his group. The five of them went on their way up the elevator and into their rooms. Builter took the first room and Katt and Falco took the second. Fox had miscalculated something as Krystal stood outside in the hallway before he walked into his room. "Hey Krystal, there's space in my room if you want to." Krystal saw an opportunity to have a little fun with him.

"My, my, I think I'd like to know you better before we sleep together." Fox's whole face went cherry red.

"No, no, no no, it's not like that. It's like there are beds and you can have a bed. Separate bed, and not in mine." Fox's hands were very animated the entire time. Krystal had a smile and fought her best to hold back the laughter that tried to escape her. "One that's like in the same room but not connected." Fox gulped. "Yeah like that." Krystal let out a small giggle.

"I guess I'll take the bed." Krystal waved her phone in front of the door and walked inside. Fox let out a sigh as she walked through the door. He stepped in after her and noticed an immediate problem. "Maybe we'll both have to take the bed." Krystal said as she and Fox looked at the single bed in the room. Krystal smiled again but didn't let Fox see it. She was almost excited to sleep in the same bed. Then she caught herself thinking these thoughts while she tried to justify why she thought these things. Was it because she was happy to be in such close quarters with Fox or was it because he was an attractive male. She quickly suppressed that last thought, she told herself she was happy to be close to the person who took away from her life for a moment. Fox walked up to a desk in the corner and set down his bag. He unloaded his gear, first his MRR, then his glasses, his earplugs and his blaster. Krystal stopped as she saw Fox holster his weapon. "Fox, what are the odds that something will go wrong?"

"Not very high." Fox looked at Krystal who had a mildly scared gaze. "Don't worry, there is a reason I come recommended to Cornerias elite. If anything happens, I'm prepared for it." This put Krystal a bit at ease.

"You promise I'll be safe, right?" Krystal asked.

"I promise."

A/N: I was hoping that this would come out sometime last week but I didn't get enough time to write what I wanted. I'm going to try to make sure the next chapter comes out sooner. Until next time, LONEW0LF out.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Fox sat in a chair in the corner of the room next to a window. He took glances at his phone, out the window and at a tv respectively. Krystal laid atop the bed flipping through the maybe fifty available channels frequently trying to avoid commercials. Not much interaction had happened besides small talk and a few quick glances. Krystal gazed at her phone and a thought came to her.

"Hey Fox, are you hungry?" Krystal asked.

"Yeah I could eat." He said pulling up his internet. "What do you want? We could order in or go out."

"I think I'd like order in." She said doing the same as Fox. "Pizza maybe?" Fox agreed and placed an order for delivery on his phone. Silence fell on them once again while they waited. "So Fox, what do you do when you're not working?" Fox nearly let out a chuckle.

"I don't have any time off really. I spend my time working on the Great Fox or working on jobs like these. Sometimes I'll come home early from the Fox to work out or play a game with Falco and Slippy. Other than that my free time doesn't exist."

"How long are you usually working on your ship?" Fox tilted his head back trying to think for a moment.

"If I was to guess. I'd say that I spend around ten to fourteen hours a day." Krystal became wide eyed as she looked at Fox.

"Fourteen hours! I could barely stand eight. How could anyone work for that long?"

"I don't even notice it anymore actually. I show up, set a goal of things I should have done by the end, and I won't go home until I've done the thing I set out to do. It's how I was raised I guess." Fox ended. "Most of the time it's just me carrying equipment onto the 'Fox' and trying to figure out what goes where."

"Sounds like a great way to spend over half your day." They both shared a laugh. "I don't suppose that you need anymore help, would you?" Fox thought for a second.

"I could use some more help but you'd probably be working almost as long as I would. Do you have any mechanical or electrical experience?" Krystal shook her head. "Alright well when you show up, just do what I say and you'll learn how things work pretty soon." Krystal and Fox went back and forth with Fox's sort of interview for another few minutes before their food came. The two keeping up the conversation while eating. Eventually however, it had to end as Fox and Falco were needed to guard Builter at an award ceremony for the celebrity. This left Krystal alone in the hotel room.

'Just like back home.' Krystal thought. Whenever she had thoughts such as these, she remembered back to her life on Cerinia. Remembering what it was like to not have to worry about rent and bills. Where her problems only went as far as food and if her training for the day was finished. Her mind was brought back at the sound of someone knocking on a door. She stepped over to the door and opened it. Katt stood in the hallway wearing the dress the would wear to the dance.

"Hey, I thought I'd come over and help you get ready." She had a small black velvet case in her hand. "I brought over some of my makeup." Katt walked in and grabbed Krystal bringing her into the bathroom. She opened her case and brought out some eyeshadow. "So I've got a question, what do you plan on doing with Fox?" Katt got out a brush and moved it up to Krystal's eyes.

"I'm Fox's date for tonight. Here to help him blend in with the crowd." Krystal closed her eyes as Katt applied the shadow.

"Bullshit. Call it instinct but I think there's something else at play here. You like Fox." Katt said.

"If you want me to admit it. Yes I'm attracted to the muscular fox who's probably met face to face with half of Corneria's film industry." She felt Katt move on the her other eye.

"Sure but I'd bet there is something beyond that."

"Yeah whatever you say." Katt applied some more makeup on Krystal. Soon she had finished. Krystal then put on her dress to see how it complimented the makeup. She had to give it to Katt. She knew what she was doing when it came to making her look and feel pretty. Krystal looked at herself in the mirror for maybe ten minutes admiring how every part of her looked beautiful. She thought that maybe she could even make the queen jealous with what she wore. Soon enough she stopped ogling herself and walked out to Katt. Katt took a few moments to admire her work with the blue vixen.

"I can't wait for Fox too see you now."

 _Meanwhile in Dutchport city hall_

Fox stood a few feet away from Builter in the corner of a room. Builter was currently giving some kind of speech that Fox had been paying attention too. Fox was a tactician. He ran through every possible scenario with a solution to each. Fires, gunmen, kidnappers, Fox took all of this into consideration. Looking around the room he would assess every person in the room quickly imagining what he or she could do given their build and place in the room. His MRR let him listen in on every call through his hidden earbuds. It also allowed him to see most encrypted messages like emails or ones that came through facebook. All he received today didn't amount to much. This wasn't a bad thing as it meant Builter currently isn't being targeted.

Fox kept his guard up while continually scanning the room for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing came however and soon enough Builters speech was over. Fox and Falco walked along Builter side making sure that no one could touch their VIP. The pair walked the VIP into their suv all the while cameras flashed around them. Fox opened the rear door for Builter as Falco walked around to the front. Fox turned around and walked in his side of the door.

"So Fox, are you ready to stutter and stammer your way through the next few hours?" Falco said as Builter chuckled and Fox blushed. His only hope was that this wasn't going to be the case.

"Har, har. Our mission isn't to have a good time. It's protecting him." Fox said pointing behind him.

"Maybe so but I'd bet tonight will be a spectacle to see that famous Fox McCloud brand shyness." Falco and Builter shared a laugh. Fox saw the hole he would dig if he pursued the conversation further and stayed quiet the rest of the ride back to the hotel. It was only about another twenty minutes that until they had made it back. Outside the hotel stood Katt and Krystal who just spent the last hour getting ready for this. Fox looked over to Krystal. A bomb could have went off behind him and he still wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off of her. She was gorgeous in a purple dress with dark matching eyeliner. He kept looking until he realized that Krystal was next to the suv.

Krystal stepped inside and sat in the far back seat. She watched as the world went by while Falco drove to the party. Deciding that just watching got sort of boring she delved into her telepathy to read Fox's thoughts. '-cking gorgeous. She's looks perfect in that dress with that makeup. I wonder what's under… NO, I can't think like that. I've only known her for like three days. Besides she probably wants better than me anyway.' Krystal stopped eavesdropping on his mind. She couldn't put her finger on it but something inside her said that she and Fox would be good together. Now was not the time to have such thoughts. She went back to staring out the window watching the world roll by.

Krystal rolled back into her thoughts. Imagining what she would have been doing if she was home right now. 'Probably just sitting down job hunting. This trip will be a big win if Fox lets me work with him in the hangar. It may be a more hours than I'm used too but more work can't be a bad thing right? Maybe I could talk him down or at least keep it at around ten hours.' The suv stopped in front of large building that looked like an old yet still luxurious hotel. Falco and Fox stepped out of the front doors.

They opened both doors simultaneously as if they were trained to do so. Katt walked outside and stood next to Falco. Builter walked out by Fox followed by Krystal. Fox offered his hand out to Krystal as she reached the door. Krystal took his hand while stepping outside. A valet walked up to the suv and took Falcos keys. Fox and Falco made a formation that put their VIP in the middle. Up front was Fox and Krystal who had yet to let each others hand go. Falco and Katt where in the back watching the couple in front of them. The group walked into the lobby of the hotel where a fancy dressed receptionist greeted them and led them through a hallway.

She led them into a convention center turned into a ballroom with wooden floors and windows that looked out over a river. More of the city lay on the other side of it with lights that illuminated the streets almost perfectly. The U shaped room had a decent size comparable maybe to a chain sit down restaurant. Inside were a few dozen animals of all kinds conversing with each other. Fox by now was doing what he did best and started to scan the entire area. He had a system of planning solutions to things that could go wrong in a self made order of likeness.

First was a fire. Fox scanned the room for any hazards. Next he came up with a plan for what to do if a fire appeared anywhere in the ballroom. If one started near the far Windows then he would get his target out first and stay behind until everyone else was out. If a fire started at the door then he would have to break the window and again help everyone else out.

Second was gunman or assassin. This one became tricky for any professional would make their presence unknown for as long as possible until a moment to strike came about. Two ways to detect one was through his MRR and if the killer came up close to his target. Professionals never missed because of how close they would get to a hit in order to ensure their kill.

Third was a kidnapper or more likely a group of them. People who spent more time looking at Fox's target then their own company usually had malicious intentions. Fox could counter this by moving Builter around every few minutes or so. If they made a move however, then Fox wouldn't hesitate to do whatever he had to do to keep his target safe.

Krystal looked out into the crowd of people she could only assume that scenes like this weren't anything out of the ordinary. People dressed in clothes that cost more than her yearly salary. She was half tempted to see if could swipe a few rings and necklaces for a quick profit. It wasn't like they couldn't afford new things, yet she held herself back to save Fox the shame in case she got caught. A band played next to the door. The band comprised of older gentlemen with string and wind instruments. They played a slow mellow tune one could easily use as background noise while conversing.

The group dispersed. Falco and Katt went to one side while Fox and Krystal went to the other. Each party making an effort to stay no less than ten feet away from Builter. Builter squeezed into a crowd and started to talk with them. Falco gave subtle nod up and to the right meaning that he had everything under control. It was a signal that Fox should start a lookout for any suspicious characters. Fox began to check everyone in the room while assuming what each person could be hiding underneath what they wore. Only a few people stuck out in his mind and he would be sure to keep a watch on them the entire time they were here.

Knowing what his night would put Fox a bit at ease. Krystal stood by her partner as she did not wish to start talking with the intimidating people in this room. Fox looked over at Krystal who watched the people around the room. The band started up a new song. It was slow and romantic. A sense of purpose came over him as the music took hold of him. Fox stepped in front of Krystal and held out his hand for her. "May I have this dance with you?" He asked in a chivalrous sounding voice M'lady. Krystal smiled and took his hand.

"You may sir." Krystal said in a matching voice. Fox held her hand tight as he brought his other arm around her waist. First he hesitated by hovering it around her waist for a few moments but soon held her in an almost romantic embrace. The pair began to sway in complement with each others body. Neither had ever really danced like this before but one couldn't tell by looking at them. Fox started to gain some more confidence as he tried a few moves with her. He took both her hands and while holding them, spun Krystal around in a full circle to him.

He figured he might as well try to do more if his partner would let him. He took her hands and twirled her around twice more. The second twirl wound up with Krystals nose landing on Fox's. The pair both blushed and looked away for a second. Fox brought the rhythm back as he took her hand once more and began to step back and forth with Krystal following suit. The music changed from slow to being quick and rhythmic. The pace of both foxes picked up with the sudden musical change.

Fox felt a sudden rush through his body. Their dancing became faster as Fox lead. Krystal kept pace with Fox very well considering how quickly his pace increased. Slowly the other people in the room disappeared as the music got louder. The two foxes gazed into one another's eyes while their minds backed out everything around them. They could only see each other. The music soon was all they could hear. Fox stepped forward as Krystal stepped back. Their dance soon evolved into more intricate moves. Fox would spin Krystal in circles while shuffling himself to always face her. Krystal would hold onto his hand as she lowered herself with legs and arms locked. The pair soon could hear the music dying down. Fox appeared to be almost sweating and so was Krystal. The rest of the world suddenly came back into focus as half the people in the room had eyes on them.

Fox and Krystal at some point made their way to the center unknowingly making sure everyone could see them. The two blushed madly making their way to a wall briskly. If stealth was the way to go then Fox just blew that factor out the window. All in all though it was worth it to have that moment with her. They hoped to never forget this moment until death and after that if they even could. Fox started to notice his perspiration. "I'm going get something to drink. Want me to get you anything?" Fox offered.

"I'll take anything right now." She said. "Thanks." Fox walked over to a bar next to the door. A sign on the counter wrote 'Open Bar.' Fox was happy at that remark. He walked up to the counter and a female tiger bartender looked over to hear his order. A list of alcohols was imprinted into the wall behind her.

"Two Blue Suns please." Fox knew this beer by heart almost. It wasn't fancy but also wasn't cheap. The bartender took out two bottles and a ceramic bowl full of orange slices. She opened up the bottles and thumbed an orange slice into each bottle, handing them to Fox afterwards. 'I hope Krystal likes my taste in beer. Wait is she old enough to drink? I don't know enough about her to even know how old she was. Hopefully I can get a clue once I hand her this.' Fox grabbed both and walked back to Krystal. He held one of the bottles toward to Krystal as he got close to her. She took it by the neck and looked at the bottle. She shrugged it off as she grabbed it by the body.

"As long as they don't card here." Krystal said.

'Shit.' Fox thought. Fox knew that the chance of getting carded here was slim to none with the amount of people over forty in this place. Fox leaned back onto the wall and did what he was doing before, scanning. He looked through the crowd once again. Only thing that stuck out was a skinny bear who leaned on the wall across from Fox. He wore a leather coat with a red under shirt and blue jeans. His phone was his main attention at the moment but every few seconds or so he would look to his right. Fox looked to what this person was intrigued by and saw he had fixated on Builter.

Right now Fox couldn't do anything because the bear currently made no threatening motions. All he could do was monitor him and listen in on him through his MRR. The bear stood up off the wall and walked in the opposite direction of Builter. For a moment Fox was relieved that he walked away. It didn't last long however. The bear made a turn that put him at an intersection with Fox's VIP. Fox stepped up and away from the wall to pursue this bear. Builter had his back turned to the bear as he came within a few feet of him. Fox saw the bear reach for a black handled object in the back of his pants. Fox recognized this immediately as a pistol and sprung into action.

The bear's arm had just upholstered his weapon and had it made it halfway to Builters head. Fox grabbed both his arms trying to restrain him. This ended to not be in Fox's favor as the bear pulled the trigger three times sticking the ceiling each time. Everyone ducked for saftey with the audible assualt that was a ballistic pistol going off. Fox who still had a beer locked that arm upward pouring the contents on the bears face blinding him of sorts. As the bear tried to clear his face, Fox tackled him to the ground pinning his arms behind his back. The pistol flew in the direction of Krystal who just watched all this happen in a matter of only ten seconds. Fox acted quickly grabbing a set of holo cuffs from his back pocket.

Fox wrapped the cuffs around the bear. He no longer fought him back. Krystal only watched as this whole fight took place. She decided to see what was in the mind of the person who Fox just restrained. Discreetly she held her her hand up around her hip in order to read his mind. 'Come on Luke. Shoot this guy so we can take Builter in for the bounty.' Krystal nearly went into a frenzy.

'I need to tell Fox, but if I do that then I'll expose him to who I am. What I am. I can't let him or anyone know.' Krystal sent herself into what could only be described as radar mode. Quickly she went through everyone's mind looking for who ever the bears partner was. 'Nothing, nothing, nothing, damn it, who's with him.' She kept scanning around until she found a male hyena in the corner turned towards the wall. She delved into his mind.

'-on of a bitch. If I let Karr get thrown, I'll never be able to get promoted.' She went to see what he was doing with his hands. With his left he held a lower half to a carbine. The upper was in the other hand trying to assemble it in the dimly lit room. Krystal needed to act somehow. No one else but Krystal was looking anywhere other than Fox and the bear so she became the only person to see the hyena. She picked up the pistol on the ground and tried to get a grip on the large frame.

The hyena put the halves together and turned around. He stood in the corner aiming his carbine at Fox. Krystal had no time left. She brought the pistols sights on top of the hyena. The world froze as her adrenaline took over the motions. She didn't even notice the two booming sounds emanating only feet from her ears. She could see that she fired but couldn't hear or feel what had happened. The only saw a muzzle flash and the hyena make a sudden towards his leg with his hand. The realization of what had just happened hit Krystal. Krystal lowered the pistol and looked over her side. Everyone was staring back and forth to her and the man she just shot.

Fox, like everyone else, had no idea what had happened until he looked back. Krystal had just saved his life. He owed Krystal alot for this and knew giving her the job was one way to repay her but had something else in mind. Falco rushed over to the fallen gunman. He glanced over at Krystal seeing that she was the person who did this. "Get Builter to the suv." Falco ordered. Krystal did as told and walked over to Builter with a pistol still in hand. She grabbed his arm moving as quick as she could with him.

Fox was already out front waiting for his suv. He dumped his gunman with the hotel security forces in order to make a quick getaway in case anymore of his friends showed up. Fox held his balster in hand watching everything that moved in his immediate vicinity. Krystal came outside with Builter making Fox jump a bit at the sound of the door opening. Fox took Builter's other side to be sure no one could get to him. Fox felt a wave of relief as the suv came around the corner and into the driveway. Falco would have to stay back but Fox needed to get Buitler out of this area.

Fox put Builter in the back seat as Krystal moved to the front seat. Soon the three of them were moving at Fox's breakneck pace down the streets of Dutchport. What took Falco ten minutes to get to the party took Fox four to get back when Fox saw stoplights like stop signs. Fox made it to their hotel parking lot and got his VIP out with his arm over him in a protective manner. Krystal ditched her pistol and followed Fox into the hotel while watching out for anyone that may be a threat. The group moved fast into the elevator and up to the eighth floor.

For a moment the group felt safe. Builter was placed in his room with Fox standing guard. Krystal went to the room Fox and her shared. She laid on the bed trying to comprehend what had just happened. She shot a man but somehow it didn't bother her as much as it should have. Yes she just shot a twenty something year old, but it was a person who would have killed Fox and killed or kidnapped Builter. With the knowledge that she shot someone who went to such an extreme length just for money, she could live with herself. Tonights sleep wouldn't come easy but in time it would. Fox came in five minutes later.

"Hey." He said. Krystal didn't say anything but looked him. "Falco got back and said he'd take first shift on watch. How are you feeling?" He sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I've felt better."

"I know it's not an easy thing to get over, trust me I know all too well. If you need anything just let me know."

"Thanks. I don't mean to be rude but I'd kinda just like to be alone for awhile."

"That's fine. I'll just grab some clothes and go down to the gym. I'll be back later." Krystal nodded her head in response. Fox picked up his duffle bag to grab a bundle of clothes he then walked out the door with. Krystal stay on the bed thinking about the past hours events. This went on for awhile with her thinking of different ways it could have played out. Soon she got tired of thinking about what could have happened and just focused on what did. She did what was right in the end.

Krystal didn't want to be alone so she reached into her bag to pull out a pair of shorts and a grey tank top. She changed out of her dress into the workout clothes she brought with. She replaced her heels with tennis shoes and washed away her makeup. She walked out of the room and passed an angry looking Falco who stood in front of Builter's room. She ignored Falco taking the elevator down to the first floor gym. The gym could be described as the average hotel gym. Three treadmills, a weight machine and row of dumbbells Fox was currently utilizing. He looked up as she entered.

"Hey, I thought you said you wanted to be alone."

"I just came down here for a quick run."

"Alright I can leave if you want-"

"No it's fine, you can finish." Fox nodded going back to his sets. He looked back a few times ad Krystal could sense him doing this. She looked back once as he did this and the two locked eyes. "Do you need something Fox?" Fox looked uneasy as he tried to come up with words.

"Krystal I… I want to offer you a job. Not the one in my hangar we talked about earlier, that ones your if you chose to take it. I want to offer you a position on my team as a contractor. Today you showed me that you can think and work well under pressure. I'm always looking for people like this and I think you'd make a good addition to my team." Krystal was about to speak. "Don't answer me now. This is a huge job that will be the most dangerous thing you'll ever do. It takes about a month of processing just to get you registered."

"Not to sound greedy but what's the pay?"

"Twenty percent of whatever our grand pay is. Often it's around fifteen hundred to about five thousand." Krystal recioled at those numbers.

"How many jobs do you do?"

"About four a month so about one a week." Krystal couldn't help but think of all the things that money could do for her family back home. Even at the low end of that number was still six thousand a month. At least triple what she made at the diner. She knew it came at a cost. For her people though, she'd do anything. "Think on it and give me a decision in the morning." Fox set down his dumbbells and left the gym.

Krystal found it hard to think about anything else except what Fox just offered her. Most of her people lived in poverty inside gang territories and working in jobs even the needy would turn down. Krystal made her decision without needing to think twice but Fox would want her answer in the morning anyway. She couldn't focus on her legs with the emotional happiness of being able to support her people with as much as she could now. Krystal left the gym a few minutes later not being able to focus on what she came down to do.

Upon entering the room again she didn't see or even hear her new boss. "Fox?" She called out but got no reply. Krystal figured that he must be with Builter or getting something from a nearby gas station. Krystal looked at herself and though she hadn't worked out for long, she saw herself to be sweaty enough to warrant a shower. Krystal took off her tank top and opened the bathroom door. The door opened and the light were already on. The reason why they were on was quickly discovered as Krystal was met with a naked Fox using his hands to cover himself.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." She said in rapid succession. She closed the door as fast as she could. Krystal looked down at her hands seeing that she must've dropped her tank top in the naked Fox frenzy. Krystal imagined what might be underneath his hands for a moment. The image of fox with nothing on began to burn into her mind. The arousing sight of his muscled stomach and toned legs was all she could see now. Fox opened the bathroom door as he held a towel over himself.

"Hey I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in or I-" His words were cut off by a pair of lips meeting his with force. The towel fell around to all except what made him a man. Their kiss broke for a moment. Krystal grabbed what part of the towel clung to him and looked up at Fox.

She then spoke in a low, seductive tone. "This time don't hide it from me."

Chapter five end.

A/N: If the ending to this sounds familiar to a certain chapter that was recently released in another story that was not written by me. Trust me that I noticed it too and have spent the last few hours trying to decide if I go through with what I wrote or rewrite the ending. I think that I made the right choice in keeping what I wrote for the sake of the story that is. Anyway until next time, LONEW0LF out.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _38 days later_

Fox woke up in his bed. Instinctively with eyes half open he rolled over to walk to his bathroom. He started to move but found that his arm was pinned down by something. His eyes opened up wider and he looked back at what held down his arm. He saw the bare back of a blue furred vixen. Krystal didn't stay over every day but in the past month she'd been in Fox's bed more than her own. Fox tried to slowly shimmy his arm away without disturbing her. Krystal made a light moan proving Fox wasn't as subtle as he thought.

Krystal looked over to Fox who still lay next to her. "Morning." Krystal mumbled through her tired haze. "What time is it?"

"It's seven thirty." Fox said. Krystal looked visibly annoyed at him.

"You know there's this thing called sleeping in. You should try it." Krystal spoke lazily. Fox let out a comical snort.

"Where's the fun in that?" Fox stood up out of the bed as Krystal watched. Fox hadn't put any of his clothes back on yet giving Krystal a pleasant view of the vulpine. Fox walked into his shower soon followed by Krystal.

Fox had learned a significant amount about her in the past month of her security clearance application. She was twenty with a birthday coming up in a few months. Her last name was Becker but apparently had been given that name after becoming a refugee. She never said how she became a refugee and Fox was fine with that. Her past was hers alone and he did not delve any further. From what he could tell, her family were the refugees.

Krystal was working with Fox every day since proving her decision making skills under pressure and willingness to protect a target. She worked with Fox on his ship most weekdays and trained with him on weekends mostly. After only a few days she got a clear image of how Fox was in such good shape. Working in the hangar mostly included lifting, carrying and dragging various machinery and equipment into the battleship.

Fox bought her some clothes saying, 'This is the closest thing we have to a uniform.' The tops were combat shirts with a black and white ACU pattern on the sleeves. The center was light grey and made to have a vest over it. She was also given a few pairs of pants with the same pattern as the sleeves of her combat shirt. The pockets were deeper than one would expect. Krystal could probably fit an entire pistol in it though maybe that was it's intention. A pair of black boots, white and black gloves, and white military cap completed her outfit.

A few hours later Fox and Krystal walked into a firing range on the outskirts of the city. Officially it was the police forces' range but the public could use it for a fee. This is where Fox brought Krystal at least once a week to teach and test her ability to use weapons. Fox used a variety of different ranged weapons and each had a specific purpose. Fox made it his mission to teach Krystal how to use each one. She proved to do the best with his DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) because she could lay back in a supporting role without the training of a sniper. Krystal proved to be a quick learner hitting any stationary target within three hundred yards after only about ten hours of training.

The rifle she used was an experimental railgun variant. The love child of ballistic and energy weapons, a railgun used electromagnets inside it's barrel to propel a projectile faster than a regular ballistic rifle while being quieter than a blaster. The rifle reminded Fox of an AR design with a longer barrel and skinnier magazine. Fox had admired it but found no use for the weapon since he was usually a bodyguard or frontline in a conflict.

Fox and Krystal sat on benches at a long range shooting stand. Fox used the scope on his ballistic sniper rifle to see how close to the the bullseye she could get. "We should get your security clearance results back today. If you past I have a job lined up with the military." Fox said. Krystal took a shot at a target two hundred yards away and hit the very edge of it. "Up and to the left." Fox said.

"What will I be doing?" She said adjusting the scope.

"Honestly, we'll probably be on our asses most of the time trying to pass the time." Whenever the military offered jobs to contractors, there were degrees of jobs. Type 1 was a job working directly alongside a military division and usually meant heavy fighting. Type 2 was a mission were a team would be inserted into a random location and given a specific objective to finish on their own. It could be to rescue someone from a hostile environment the government had no jurisdiction or eliminate a target covertly. Type 3, unofficially known as beer run missions, was the type they were just given. Stand there and look tough, give the image of strength to those around an area they had been tasked to defend. When armed and dangerous people inhabited an area, others avoided it making these missions drag on. "We're defending the building site of a new ambassy on Titania. So bring a book or something that can help take your mind off the heat."

"Sounds fun." Krystal shot off another round. She aimed for the one hundred fifty mark and hit dead on.

"Yeah these missions usually involve us and at least one other group to guard the site." Fox took aim at the target Krystal just shot. He fired once feeling the massive recoil from his rifle dig into his shoulder. A ping noise rang out letting Fox know he hit his target. "I don't know exactly who we'll be with. Count on a few more than us." Krystal shot at the two hundred yard target, hitting it.

"So do you have an idea of who we'll be set with?" Fox toyed with the dials on his scope while looking down the sights.

"I have a few, but no one you would know." Fox shot at Krystal's target hitting the exact same hole she had made. "It's gonna be just us two also. Falco got signed to guard someone in Corneria for a week."

"How long will we be there?" Krystal asked.

"About a week. Don't worry about housing or food, they'll take care of us."

"That's not what I was worried about." Krystal aimed at another target.

"If you're worried about money then you should know, we're slated to receive around fifteen grand for the job. You'll get about three of it." Krystal pulled the trigger but missed upon hearing wat her cut was.

"Fox isn't that a bit much." Fox aimed at the target she missed and hit it.

"I told you you'd get twenty percent of whatever job we had. Twenty of fifteen is three grand. This pay is pretty standard for a CDF contract mission."

"If that's normal, why do you live in an apartment you can afford after just one work day?" Fox took aim at a target three hundred yards away.

"I'd like to change the topic." He pulled the trigger hitting the target. Krystal gazed over to see Fox with a tighter grip on his rifle than earlier.

"I'm sorry. I just got curious." Fox let his grip loosen.

"It's fine." Fox said standing up. "I think we've had enough training for today." He knelt down to pick up his rifle. Krystal got up with her rifle in hand. She followed Fox back to his truck placing her rifle in a custom made case. Fox and Krystal sat in the truck as he drove them back into the city to their complex. The truck stopped at a stop sign and Fox looked out to see a diner down the road. "Hey are you hungry?" Krystal looked at the dashboard clock.

"Yeah I guess it's lunchtime." Fox set his blinker and turned down the way to the diner. The parking lot looked about half full with a mix of cars and commercial vehicles. They parked at the edge of the lot away from the street. The diner was full of people who looked like they knew what laid beyond hard work. This place was only a mile away from the space port so most of its patrons probably worked there. Krystal saw Fox's paw by his side and grabbed it with hers. He noticed her and saw her a bit uneasy so he grasped her hand back. A waitress came up to them with a few menus in her arm.

"Hi, table for two?" Fox nodded. "Alright follow me." The two were led into a booth by a window outlooking the road in front of them. The waitress set down two menus and left to get them water. Krystal watched the world outside pass by. A spaceship in the distance caught her eye and made her think of something.

"Hey Fox." She said getting his attention. "What are you going to do once you fix your ship?" This question caught Fox off guard. For a second Krystal thought she overstepped a boundary again until he visibly composed himself.

"I guess the same thing we're doing now. When my father started doing space bound missions, he got requested all the time for escorts and to take down roaming bands of pirates. Star Fox is one of three contracting companies able to take on space contracts. We'll be pretty much set once we get the Great Fox up and running."

"What does space bound mean? Don't we already go on missions in space?"

"Not like you're thinking. Space bound means like combat space. Dogfights and ship to ship battles."

"So I guess you won't need me once you get it fixed." Krystal said lowly.

"What makes you think that?"

"Fox, I don't even have a license to drive a car. How can you expect me to be able to fly a fighter or be part of a crew in a ship when I barely know anything about repairs?"

"Krystal, I've seen how quick you can learn and adapt to differing challenges. I have no doubt that you can overcome all of that."

"Thanks babe." Krystal said. That comment caught both of them off guard. To this point the two had kept their relationship professional without names or the usual things couples did. "I didn't mean that, or I mean I guess I did but not in a…" Krystal stopped mid sentence trying to get a hold of her words. Fox almost laughed seeing her fumble around.

'This must be what I look like.' He held one of her hands and placed it on the table. "It's okay." Krystal looked into Fox's eyes. "I don't mind." She simply smiled back.

A/N: Where's Moving On. Don't worry it's coming. I finished a chapter for it yesterday but I just felt like it wasn't great. I decided to release at least one chapter this week. Sorry for those who follow that story. I took what I had for chapter 6 of Heroes and just tried to cut it off at a point I thought could make a short chapter.

Also, updates may be coming up slower from now on. I started writing to keep myself busy while recovering from a surgery and my doctor told me that I'm healed enough to return to work. I'll try to get updates as soon as I can but this will slow down sadly.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Krystal lay in the living area trying to find ways of passing the time. The two of them had been travelling for around three hours. She had sprawled out on a couch in the living area playing some generic fps game on the TV. Fox sat in the cockpit looking over the instruments of which there were many. Computers on board small ships like his made a reputation for getting over processed so a pilot was always needed at the controls. He kept his eyes locked on the various dials and screens occasionally looking up at the space in front of him to make sure he nothing big was in his way. All of this took a toll on him though. His eyes would start to droop if he didn't focus on keeping them up along with the other thirty things he had to monitor.

Fox knew if he didn't get caffeine of some kind in his system he might fall asleep and crash the ship. He got out of the cockpit once he flew into an area he felt safe in for a couple moments. He opened the door leading to the living area finding Krystal on the couch. She moved her head in his direction as he walked to a small kitchen area opposite side to Krystal. "I need coffee." Fox said bluntly. He reached into his cabinet to grab a thermos and a coffee maker. Moments later his coffee was brewed and he started to walk back to the cockpit. Then an idea came to Fox who looked over at Krystal on the couch. "Hey Krystal."

"Yes,Fox."

"Do you want to stay with Star Fox after we get the Great Fox? If you do then you'll need to learn how to fly spacecraft. We can start now if you're bored."

"Wait you want me to learn how to fly now. Fox I still don't even have a driver's licence or even know what any of the buttons do."

"Then that's a great place to start." Fox opened the door to the cockpit as Krystal got off the couch. "Why did you never get a licence?"

"I never had money for a car so I never bothered to get one. Do I need one to get a pilot's license?"

"Well they do like to know you can drive something that goes in four directions before you command something that goes in every direction." Krystal didn't laugh but smiled at him. "Since we're here I'll show you some of the ships controls." She followed Fox into the cockpit and was greeted by an astounding amount of blinking lights and flashing screens. "I guess we'll start with the basics of this." He sat down in the left chair and gestured for Krystal to sit in the right one. "Umm… where should I start." He said looking around the very cramped room. "I'll start here. Everything above the window applies to the cabin and air flow. Everything else applies the flight and comms."

He went on for awhile just explaining things on the panels and screens of the ship. Krystal for the most part understood most of what he said. She listened attentively to everything he said about flying. She knew that few Cornerians and no Cerinian ever got the chance go learn how to fly one of these ships. Yet due to who she knew, she would soon be flying ships through space.

 _1000 Titania (Two hours later)_

The pair arrived on Titania a moment ago and Fox rolled out some vehicle from the back of the transport. The vehicle, called the stryker, could best be described as a shorter yet longer 4 seater jeep with a beefier hood. No doors, no windows and a heavy duty roll cage made this vehicle built for places with no roads. A circle was cut into the top center area for a possible machine gun emplacement. All the features also made it illegal to be on Cornerian streets so it only got out when a mission called for it. He also grabbed a weapon Krystal hadn't seen before. Fox called the ballistic weapon an M6. It had a basic assault rifle look to it with plenty of equipment on its rails. Krystal still had the railgun DMR Fox gave her for target practice. She hoped it was as good in the field as it was on the range.

The roads on Titania were a mix of sandstone and asphalt, most of which started to erode. Granted the suspension of the stryker made any bump or pothole feel like nothing. Krystal held onto the top rail and the bottom of her seat as even on roads made of sand Fox drove at his, 'cars need to be faster than light,' speed. Every turn felt that much scarier when just a harness kept her from falling out onto the road. Thankfully for Krystal the embassy project was only fifteen minutes from the star port.

The building was behind a twelve foot high brick wall. From what could be seen the embassy had a Spanish style architecture like a lot of other buildings on Titania. Fox pulled up to a gate that had to be manually pulled away to let him in. In side the wall were three tents and a makeshift motor pool they drove into. The motor pool had a school bus and another stryker like vehicles. Various construction equipment lay scattered around the site. Both of them stepped out of the Stryker and grabbed their gear. A duffel bag and each other's' respective rifle. Fox started to walk towards the tents followed by Krystal.

Fox saw a tall male deer walk out of the center tent. The deer looked at the two foxes coming toward him. "I see you found someone new. Is being blue the only qualification you look for in your operators?" Said the deer.

"Har har Legion. What's our situation like out here so far?"

"A usual patrol mission with me and my three operators. This place is going up quick. Yesterday it was just a hole so they'll probably be done in a few more days. Our job is the walk the perimeter and report suspicious activity. We made a list of who goes on patrol at what time. Come by the center tent for your times." Legion walked into the tent left of the center. Fox went into the center. A table, a corkboard and a set of file cabinets were the only things inside. Fox walked to the corkboard to see when he was up.

"Alright you and me have night shift so if you want to sleep now would the best time." Fox said. "I guess that's it for here. Hey let me show you what five star living looks like in a warzo-" The tent flap opened up with a beagle in a red military uniform stepping in. Legion cane in after him. Fox instantly stood up straight and saluted the beagle.

"At ease. I'm sure your soldier can find her own way to your quarters. We have some matters to discuss concerning the surrounding area."

"Colonel Roth sir, I wasn't aware you would be with us on this mission."

"Why not? I'm in charge of CDF forces on this planet. As such you were contracted by them, you fall under my command. Now I came across some things you may want to know about in this area but, only Legion and you have clearances high enough to hear it." He ended that by looking over at Krystal.

"I understand. I'll be going." Krystal said. She walked outside and to the tent on the right. This tent was even simpler than the center. The only thing inside were two cots on opposite sides. Krystal set her duffle bag on the nearest cot and sat down on it. She wondered what was going on that she couldn't be in the same room. Luckily she wouldn't have to wonder forever. She focused on her powers to get into Fox's mind.

"-ti establishment group has made a name for itself rallying peaceful protests on the capital of Titania. So far they have done nothing violent but we have reason to believe that may change. The leader of this group has met with a tiger who recently was released from prison for planning a bank robbery. It wouldn't be that far of a stretch to plan an invasion of this embassy." Krystal could hear Fox's thoughts almost immediately discredit what he just said. "Be on high alert gentlemen. I have to be going now. I'm needed elsewhere until this embassy is complete."

Colonel Roth walked out the tent leaving the two mercenaries inside. "You think he has a layer of aluminum foil under his hat?" Fox asked.

"No he'd be too scared it would catch on fire if he stepped in front of a microwave dish." Said Legion.

"So should we be on alert at all because of this?"

"Let's say we took these guard jobs seriously. We maybe put in like twenty five percent effort. Up it to twenty five point one and I think we're safe." Fox laughed. "As for the bank robber, who wouldn't want to hear a first hand bank robbery story."

"You planning a heist?" Fox asked. Krystal however couldn't keep concentrating on what Fox saw as her phone started to vibrate. It was the Queen. She swiped the green call symbol and the Queens face came up. She appeared to be walking around the neighborhood that she and most of the Cerinans called their new home. One of the royal guards accompanied her.

"Krystal, I've tried reaching you a few times. Why haven't you picked up?" Krystal evaded her so she would have to tell her about the whole gun for hire thing. "And why are you dressed like you're trying to blend in with a mountaintop?" Now she couldn't wiggle out of telling her.

"So I found a job. That guy who offered me that vacation also offered me a job. I'm making really good money-"

"By killing. Krystal you are not a warrior remember. This isn't some continuation of your training. We don't have to fight in this new world Krystal. Our race may be down but we can survive without stooping down to this level." The Queen struck a nerve in Krystal.

"I'm not stooping to ANY level. These jobs pay very well. If I do enough of these missions than I can probably get you and some others out of that ghetto you live in." The Queen looked steamed at this point. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't come up with anything. The Queen let out a sigh.

"I can see I can't dissuade you on this. Promise me you'll be careful, I can't stand to lose more of my family." The zipper of the tent opened up to reveal Fox entering. Krystal was spoke in her native tongue so Fox eavesdropping wasn't an issue to her.

"I promise." Krystal said holding up her hand. The Queen hung up on her end so Krystal just pocketed her phone. She looked at Fox who tried to avoid eye contact with her as the call happened. He lay on his cot looking up at the tent ceiling. "Family matters." She said.

"It sounded heated at the end there." Fox said.

"Yeah, I guess I never told them about me being a mercenary." Fox Huffed.

"That might be a big deal. Also, don't sell yourself short. You're a contractor, not a Mercenary. It means the same thing but sounds nicer." Krystal laughed. "We should probably get some sleep. We're going be on our feet walking in a square for eight hours." The two did talk for a small while longer but fell asleep after a few more minutes. Over the next few days Krystal got to know the other contractors.

Ghost was a black furred wolf armed with a bullpup assault-style rifle. He had been actually very nice to Krystal when ever they met. Tacos, a golden tabby, patrolled right before Fox and Krystal with Ace a female grey coyote. Both carried blaster weapons everywhere they went. They were almost in sync in everything they did. The conversations they all had were entertaining and helped pass the time. It was easy for day patrols because you could pop in at center tent where meals were prepared. It made Fox and Krystal wish they got some day work instead of sleeping through it for nighttime.

Night patrols were always quiet. Sometimes a loud car would pass or maybe you would hear police sirens in the distance. After six nights of patrolling, both found themselves looking for anything to pass the time. This night was no different. "So how well do you know Legion?" Krystal asked.

"Not at all, Legions not even his real name. In this work we never exchange names. We work on code names instead." Fox explained. Both of them walked together on the inside of the perimeter. The entire base was lit up so the guards could see any intruders.

"Wait I've heard the others call you by your name."

"What are you-," Krystal could see in his eyes that gears in his mind started turning. "Oh, I don't think I ever told my real name is James Junior. Fox is a name I've had since the academy. More people seem to call me Fox than James though. I really couldn't care less." Two cars could be heard driving past the base at speed. The cars had become a nearly regular occurrence yet no one wanted to call the authorities. They would just watch and bet on who would win if the patrol got too boring and no one was awake they could talk too.

"So what's my name then?"

"You're just operator for now. Until you do something interesting. Then you get a either a badass name or an embarrassing one. It all depends on what you do that's memorable. Ghost got his name after getting inside of a terrorist held bunker. He grabbed a hard drive with the terrorists names on it without a single one knowing. Just don't be like Tacos. First week on the job he ate nothing but tacos and now he's stuck with that name." A car drove past the base quickly. They were rounding the corner for probably the hundredth time that night. The gate was ahead of them and they could hear the cars even louder from this side. "You think they might be compensating for someth-" At that calm moment hell broke loose. A truck rammed the gate busting it open and nearly tipped the truck over. A machine gun had been hurry rigged on the top and begun firing randomly. Fox took action and aimed for the gunner. Krystal saw him do this and aimed for the driver. Two shots came from their end followed by silence.

Fox held his rifle at the ready and slowly walked toward the truck. Krystal stayed behind him keeping her rifle aimed at the gate. They could hear more footsteps running toward the gate. With each step came the clanking noise of ammo belts and vests. Fox held up his hand in a signal to stop. He extended it out towards the embassy making sure Krystal saw. The two of them ram in a beeline to the embassy door. The construction crew left at night in the bus so only the other contractors were here.

Fox jumped in a windowless hole at the front of the building. He peeked out the top waiting to see the enemy in the busted gate. Krystal ran jumped into the same room Fox was in and almost got shot. Fox quickly put his barrel back downrange at the gate looking for any movement. "What the fuck is happening out there?" Legions voice came over the radios. Fox picked up his radio while keeping one hand on the trigger.

"A technical just rammed the gate and we can hear multiple contacts outside the perimeter. I suggest someone call the cops." Fox said. He looked calm even while in a situation he had no control over. Krystal tried her best to control her breathing but almost dying took a toll. She managed to copy Fox in looking at the gate shakingly with her rifle.

"I'll call 'em. Keep the hostiles at the gate. My operators are on the way." Fox saw a foot step in the gateway only to retract as Fox shot at it. He missed but sent those on the other side a message. He waited for his reinforcement to arrive and took potshots at the gate so the people on the other side knew they were there. Krystal watched the other side of the gate but found it difficult because of the truck still being in the way. She looked through her scope watching. Krystal jumped every time Fox shot his rifle. The flashes lit up the room as Fox shot bursts at the gate wall.

The enemy never put a hair in view of Fox's constant fire. Krystal shot at the wall whenever Fox had to reload and vise versa. No more than a second would ever pass between the two rifles trained on the wall. All of a sudden footsteps were heard running inside the embassy. "Movement in the embassy." Fox said into his radio. Fox aimed at the door expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

"Don't Shoot! Don't Shoot! It's us." He heard Ghost's deep voice come over his radio. Krystal was reloading in cover when a spray of bullets came right overhead. In the moment she ducked to reload some of the terrorists ran into the walls and took cover behind the truck.

"Take positions at windows and concentrate fire at the gate. Keep them at bay until the cops show up." Fox said commandingly into his radio. The sound of many guns exchanging fire drowned out every other sound. The only way Fox and Krystal knew each other still lived was by movement. Krystal would take pauses from fighting and just stayed in a crouched position behind the embassy wall. Fox saw this and couldn't blame her. This was something no could have seen happening on a first week. Probably not on any week honestly. Fox just kept firing.

"Fox this is Legion. Cops are sending a swat team. ETA five minutes." Fox felt relief that this ordeal would be over after a few more minutes. He saw one of the gunman at the truck firing sideways. Not at the embassy or the road but into the compound where no one was. The answer to what he had been shooting at came quickly as the power to the whole compound went out. He shot the generator. In the dark the gunmen easily move into the embassy without anyone knowing. Fox laid down fire to the truck like ammo wasn't a concern. That plan came to bite him when the dreaded click rang. Fox took cover and reached for a new mag inside his vest. Then his hopes dropped as he realized he used it already. Krystal got out of cover to shoot once more. In a rare moment of silence. Fox heard the distinctive racking noise of the heavy machine gun.

Fox tackled Krystal to the ground and laid over her protectively. "Fox what are you doing?" The machine gun spat loudly at the two foxes. The gun tore into the freshly laid bricks. Nothing could be heard over the crumbling room and the giant gun. Fox stay still laying over her. After what felt like hours but may have only been five seconds the shooting stopped. All of it stopped. The foxes looked out to see flashing blue and red lights outside the wall. Swat arrived and the gunmen surrendered.

"Everyone alright? Legion company sound off." Legions voice said through the radio. Fox looked at Krystal.

"This is Tacos, I'm alright." Krystal moved her muzzle against Fox's. The two locked their lips together.

"This is Ace, I'm alive." Fox moved his arms behind her back. Krystal moved one hand to his chest and the other to his cheek.

"This is Ghost, I'm a little shaken up but I'll live." Fox couldn't bring himself to break this kiss even if the world depended on it. The same could be said for Krystal.

"Star Fox company, what is your status?" Fox heard this and decided to ignore it. He focused on the blue vixen that almost died along with him. "Fox come in." Krystal moved her hands to undo his vest. "Fox please come in." Fox grabbed her hands as they were half way down his vest.

"Not here." He said to Krystal. "This is Star Fox company, were both fine." Fox radioed back. He stood up and rezipped his vest. His picked his rifle off the ground and walked to the front of the embassy. He placed an empty mag in the gun to give the impression that he was still dangerous. Cops in riot gear stormed the compound to arrest the attackers. Fox slung the rifle on his arm and let it dangle between his right arm and body. He put his hands up so he wouldn't be mistaken for one of the gunmen. Krystal did everything Fox did so she could blend in.

Legion company were coming out of the embassy moments later. The six of them walked forward toward the cops to show that they weren't threats. They paid attention to the cops trying to get recognition. One officer walked up to them. "Are you guys the security detail?" They all nodded. "'Kay once these guys are in custody I'll come around and get a statement from each of you." The officer walked away.

"Well how was your first gunfight?" Legion asked. Krystal laughed half heartedly.

"It's making think about a career change." Now most of the company laughed. Talking resumed between the contractors. Krystal saw one the gunmen lined up kneeling on the sidewalk. He wasn't looking at the prison van or at the operators. He looked in a dark corner of the compound. Krystal decided to enter his mind.

'Come on Gerry. They aren't expecting it. Light 'em up." Krystal was sent into a quiet panic. She used her powers to look for this other person. A faint brainwave came from about thirty feet away. If she focused on it longer it wouldn't be so faint but now she couldn't afford to wait any longer. She raised her railgun and fired. The rifle made its soft zoom noise and scream could be heard in the darkness. Everyone looked to the direction of the scream and then at Krystal. One of the officers shined a flashlight in the direction of the scream to find a lynx holding his leg with a assault rifle tossed by his side.

Some officers went over to pick him up. The company looked at Krystal. "Holy shit, how did you know he was there?" Ghost asked. Krystal didn't know how to answer. She just said the first thing that came to her head.

"Instincts. Something felt off." She replied.

"Are your instincts psychic?" Ghost suggested.

"She's got a killer curse." Tacos said. Legion held up his hand.

"What did you just say?" Legion asked Tacos.

"I said she's cursed." Legion snapped his fingers and pointed at Krystal.

"That's your operator handle." He said "Welcome to the galaxies weirdest family Kursed."

A/N: Chapter 7 done. Thank you guys for 1000 views. I didn't realize this earlier but this is the longest story I've written (Not that it was hard to beat) on this sight.

I'm going to try and get the next chapter of Moving on out by Saturday or Sunday of this week. Leave a comment or a follow if you think I'm doing good on this story so far.

Until next time LONEW0LF signing out.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Alright Krystal roll right." Krystal sat in the transport co pilot seat coming back from their mission on Titania. Fox thought it was a good idea to have Krystal fly the space portion. Fox navigated Krystal around debris and space rocks. Flying in deep space was how James Sr taught Fox how to fly. Little risk of hitting another ship and Fox could take over the ship if Krystal got too close to any random space part. "Now I want you to try and rotate the ship a hundred and eighty degrees." Krystal, with both hands on the control yoke, spun the ship slowly at first but lost control quickly. The ship began to spin in circles faster than Krystal could control. Fox Grabbed his yoke and when Krystal felt Fox's side oppose hers she let go. Fox steadied the ship a moment later.

"Maybe you should fly the rest of the way." Krystal said. This was one of a few times already that she had messed up something Fox asked of her. They didn't seem hard as he said them but trying them proved her wrong.

"Yeah alright, but as soon as we touch down I'm putting you in a simulator." Fox said. Krystal sat back into the co pilot's seat with a defeated face. Fox noticed her depressed look. "I know it's hard. This is one of the most complicated things anyone could ever do. It's an art. No one gets it the first try." Fox said trying to make her feel better. Her face didn't light up but became visibly happier.

'Thanks Fox.' Krystal's voice said in his mind. Fox was confused he didn't see her lips move or hear her speak. It was almost like he imagined she said something in his head.

"Did you say something?" Fox asked. Krystal almost went into a panic. She let her mind speak to him. 'What if he's onto me? What if he already knows and is just playing me on?' She thought. 'No he couldn't know.'

"I didn't hear anything." Krystal said. Fox looked around for a moment before he sat back into his chair. 'I should leave before this happens again.' She mentally told herself. "Fox in gonna go rest in the stateroom. Are you alright up here?"

"Yeah, I guess." Fox looked at his controls disappointingly but Krystal couldn't stay here a moment longer in fear of connecting with his mind again. She stood up and walked away. 'I can't let that happen again.' She closed the door to the state room and sat down on the ground with her back against the door. She put her head in her hands. 'I wish I could be normal. Without my power.' A tear dropped down from her eye.

 _Two hours later inside the Great Fox's hangar._

"Don't you think Fox is spending a little too much time with her?" Falco asked. "I mean in the last month how many times have you seen Fox?" Falco, Katt and Slippy stood around a control panel waiting to be repaired. Slippy sorted through random junk parts as Falco and Katt leaned on both sides of the panel.

"Give them a break Falco. They're just in that part of their relationship. We were like that too once." Katt said.

"Once?" Slippy said. Falco and Katt glared at him with annoying expressions. Slippy shut up and went back to work.

"Still though, he's spent who knows how much time with her." A white light flashed by the entrance meaning someone was at the door. Falco moved off the panel and walked across the hangar to the light. "When was the last time he came down to yell at one of us for doing something wrong?" Falco talked louder as he walked toward the door.

"Are you mad that he isn't yelling?" Katt said. "Could mean we're doing everything right."

"Last time he was here, I put a wall clock on top of a tire pretending I did work. When I showed it to Fox he didn't turn around to look at it. He was staring at her." Falco was nearly yelling by the time he got to the door. There was an intercom system and Falco picked up the mic that it connected to. "Krystal is distracting him from his work and now he does less than me." Slippy slid out from the panel and looked at Katt.

"I'm confused, is he mad that Fox isn't angry or that he isn't working as hard as usaull?" Slippy asked.

"Both, but you have to admit that not even Falco's productiveness fell this low when we first started dating." Katt said. She watched Falco walk to the door then open it up. Usually he would give a rehearsed, 'What do you want, that's nice, go away.' This time however, Falco raised a hand to his head in a salute. "Look out I think the brass is here." Slippy stood up next to the panel. Two canines in red military dress uniforms walked in followed by three various animals in blue MP uniforms.

"What do you think they want?" Slippy asked.

"Hopefully work." The two red suited canines walked to an office with Falco. "We should probably hear whatever they have to say." Katt and Slippy moved over to the office where the canines could now be recognized. One was Colonel Roth in charge of CDF on Titania and Lt. General Pepper in charge of the CDF's forces on Titania and Fichina. They sat in two chairs in front of a desk while Falco sat behind it.

"So as you may know our embassy was attacked yesterday. We have a vague idea of who caused this but we need Fox for this mission." Pepper said. As if on cue the loud noise of the hangar door roared and sunlight slipped through the opening crack.

"Looks like he's back. What do you need him for?" Falco asked.

"I'll explain once he gets here. I'd like not to say it more than once." Said Pepper. A black transport ship made its way into the hangar and floated about for a minute until it landed. Out stepped Fox and Krystal from the back loading dock of the transport. Both were still in their white and black combat uniforms. Fox looked around the hangar for the others. He saw them in the office and tapped Krystal's shoulder as he walked to his friends. General Pepper stood up to greet Fox as he walked in.

"Morning Mr. McCloud, we have a job for you." He said shaking his hand.

"Alright fill me in on the details." Fox said. Roth motioned to one of the soldiers who pulled a tablet out of his jacket.

"We have an almost hundred percent match on the person who pulled the strings on that job on Titania. Good news is we know where he is. Bad news is where he is." Roth stood the tablet up facing them. The tablet screen was transparent so the two officers could interact with the touch screen even if it was behind them. "William Culter, suspected arms dealer, smuggler and terrorist. He's currently on Titania but we don't know for how long."

"There is some more good news, for you at least." Pepper said. "There is an existing bounty on him already for a little over a million dollars. Now however, we are prepared to offer you thirty million to find and capture Culter. " Fox's jaw hit the floor at this figure. "However you have to do things our way. Culter is a creature of habit and isn't into the seduction game at a bar or club kind of person. He'd rather pay for it than another mean."

"If you are suggesting that I use Katt or-"

"She won't have to go. He is more…" Pepper twirled his fingers together. "Into canines."

"No." Fox answered immediately holding Krystal tight to him. "I'm not making any of my friends do that."

"Fox…" Krystal said shyly. "I know you don't want me to but thirty million. Fox that's something no one could pass up. That's two new engines plus some extra."

"I don't care how much it is. I won't put any of you through that. If rather go through myself than have you do it."

"Funny you should say that." Roth said. "That argument was pointless because Culter is only into guys." Everyone looked at Fox.

"No, no, no I'm not going to do that." Fox said standing up. "I'm not going to whore myself out for…" Fox thought again about the figure that was at stake here. "For…"

 _Sometime later on Titaina._

Fox stood on a street corner dressed in skimpy short shorts and a black crop top hoodie. He raised a hand to his ear where a microscopic radio his. "Everyone on this frequency owes me." Fox said sternly.

Elsewhere on Titania. Roth and Pepper sat in a building not too far from Fox surrounded by Intel recruits on computers. Roth looked at Pepper and asked. "Why did you up the bounty payout from two to thirty million? I may not be the best at math but even I know that's a big jump." Pepper looked back at Roth.

"Fox needs it. I may not know him one to one but I owe him and Star Fox. The government will pay for it and won't bat an eye since its defense. With any luck, we will have a new ship to call upon when things get hairy. I have a hunch we'll need that soon."

Chapter 8 end.

A/N. Reader: Did it really take you three weeks to write less than 2000 words.

Me: Yes, yes it did. I really hope to pick up speed in my writing so bear with me please. In other big news we might get a new Starfox game announced at E3 so that's big news. If you don't know what I'm talking about look up retro studios and it's been covered by a few companies. They say it's going to be a racing game like diddy kong racing so I don't know how to feel about it. Let's hope it's not shit and hope Krystal's in it, but that might be hoping for too much.

Until next time this is LONEW0LF signing off.


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